Before I start to say anything about this movie, I must make a note of a few things that occurred with Ram Gopal Varma, the director of the Sarkar series. Last year he took the liberty of remaking one of Indian’s best known cult movie called Sholay (1975), aptly titled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. It was hardly a coincidence that it crash landed at the box office. What followed later was even spectacular and not astonishing for the class of media publicity that we sometimes prefer. He was mocked and scoffed at every awards function, FM and TV program, even flash animations were utilised to depict the “torture” inflicted by his imbecilic work. He was in short, written off by the media at every level. Since I come from a creative background, I could understand Ramu’s dilemma. In his zest to recreate a 21st century masterpiece he forgot he was toying with a movie that many in India consider to be a landmark film in cinema. At the same time it could only take the guts of a man called Ram Gopal Varma to even attempt something like this. Don’t forget that his CV has the colurful Rangeela (1995) that launched the careers of many including Urmila Matondkar, Raat (1992) and Bhoot (2003) that were successful experiments in the genre of horror while his Shiva (1989), Satya (1998) and Company (2002) showcased his class in making gangster movies. It’s unfair then to judge the likes of Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) with just one ‘Aag’ from his ‘Factory’.
It’s a well-known truth that Sarkar (2005) has been inspired by the Godfather series directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Some believe that the main character comes close to depict Balasaheb Thackeray, the Shiv Sena supremo and his family. The dark cinematography, angled camera close-ups with no songs and only a haunting background music is a hallmark of this drama series. Sarkar Raj (2008) is a continuation of the life and turmoils in the Nagre family as portrayed by it’s central cast of Amitabh (Subhash Nagre a.k.a. Sarkar) and Abhishek Bachchan (Shankar). This time they are joined by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Anita Rajan, the suave director of a power company that wants to set up a plant in Maharashtra.
Due to his ideological moorings, Sarkar refuses to buy the idea until after he reasons it out with his son who is looking for development and prosperity for the people of Maharashtra. To spoil the fun, we have a bunch of bad guys in the form of Karunesh Kangaa (Sayaji Shinde), Hassan Qazi (Govind Namdeo) and Kantilal Vora (Upendra Limaye), each of them portraying an interesting character. In the music instead of ‘Govinda govinda’ we have ‘Saam Daam Dand Bhed’ as the new theme song for this second installment. Just when we thought the movie is turning colorless, there’s a twist in the tale at the end. Is there going to be a third edition? let’s wait and see but Sarkar Raj is a must watch for all.
